Mini Amy Butler cards

Yesterday I was a busy Girl!! Not only did I get laundry done I also went through my beloved stash of Amy Butler paper.

I made little mini cards!!

Set of 10, each one is different. They are so cute!!I listed them in my shop here. The entire set of 10 is $5.

Each mini card is blank white cardstock, folded over and blank on the inside. The final size of the card is 2 3/4 x 3 and each one features a different sample of her Lotus teabox collection

Now I just need to finalize my 3x3 envelope template to make little matching envelopes to fit them in.(Once thats done, I PROMISE to share!!)

My pendants on your wrist...courtesy of an etsy seller

Before I left on vacation I had made a trade with Bamabelle over at etsy.

I made her 13 pendants from images she had sent to me. She has listed 2 of her AWESOME cuffs using these pendants so far. I think they look GREAT and I was really pleased with the way the pendants turned out. I really loved some of the images she sent me.

Bamabelle is awesome. Here is a snippet from her shop announcement:"At Bamabelle, we are dedicated to providing quality vintage clothing, accessories ,dishes, and jewelry. "

This first one is her Lizzie Borden Cuff. Here is the listing description: A wild and crazy Lizzie Borden adorns this cuff made from the deep red velvet of a damaged vintage evening gown. I topped it with more scavenged vintage fabric, this time drak charcoal gray netting with glass beads. White lace was sewn to all edges.the cuff closes with 2 elastic loops and vintage glass buttons.

The second one she has up so far is her Emotional Miranda Cuff "Miranda, from The Tempest, stands on the rocky shore with her blue dress blowing in the gale, lovely red hair streaming. Miranda sits on a wide base of blue velvet, recycled from a damaged evening gown.The ruffling is vlue lace, hand sewn.I used the pale lavender acetate lining of the dress as a contrast band, then sewed vintage beige lace to that. Miranda is attached to the top, and adorned with a vintage recycled rhinestone earring that is missing one teeny stone. 2 strips of the acetate lining form a tattered bow under the jewel.the cuff closes with an elastic loop and a vintage blue glass button."

She also has a plain cuff for you to put your own brooch or custom pendant. Imagine your own customized pendant on this cuff.

Check out bamabelle and tell her Blueboygifts sent you!!

Boutique Bracelets

I have been kind of toying with an idea the past few weeks. One of those ideas that get stuck in your head and wont go away. So in I jumped. I have learned over the past few years to never second guess myself. If I have an idea, I need to do it or I will fret and contemplate and "what if" the rest of my life.

So here was my idea:

I wanted to make a cute, inexpensive bracelet for every month of the year, coordinating with said months birthstone color. So instead of real gemstones and sterling silver and bali silver and really shocking price tag, I used Czech Firepolished faceted rounds in a variety of sizes and used sterling silver and pewter spacers and bead caps. Each bracelet is finished off with a toggle clasp of some sort and are only $12. I have seen similar items at my local boutiques and gift shops for $20 or more.

I love Boutique jewelry. It is really pretty and festive, yet affordable and with no worries that you are losing a fortune should it go missing. If you are active or hard on your jewelry then the boutique style jewelry is the way to go.

I apologize in advance for the pictures. I need to repair my lightbox and have not yet done it.

I will be listing these periodically throughout the month in my shop. Each bracelet is 7 1/2 inches long but can be shortened or lengthened for a 50 cent charge to cover wire and crimp beads.

I am also going to take them to my craft show in October and hopefully they will make excellent stocking stuffers.

Now I just need to make coordinating Moo Cards to go with them. I figured I would have each month with its own moo card and have the month listed and what the birthstone is and what it means etc. So if I can just channel my inner adobe illustrator goddess and design those moo cards!!

Happy Thursday.

July Specials and Steel Magnolias

Wow, July already. I can't believe it.

This month my July Bracelet will be available in my shop.

Ruby Red czech glass with swarovski pearls, sterling silver and cast metal. A Bar and Ring Toggle Clasp replaces the springing clasp as seen here in the picture though. That is the only difference.

Great for any July Birthday.

The Lip Balm Flavor of the month in my other shop is RASPBERRY LEMONADE.

What a great flavor. It is so sweet and tangy and refreshing, like a tall glass of ice cold lemonade with the perky flavor of ripe red raspberries.

Available in Beeswax or vegan.

Perfect for those summer lips. Keep them smooth and kissable!!

I took this picture in Chattanooga. My cousin, Leslie, brought these in to put on the table.

The Magnolia is one of my favorite flowering trees. They are so beautiful and creamy white against the dark green waxy leaves.. If you go to Mt Vernon, the Magnolia Trees there are GIGANTIC. They can grow to be humongous.

They smell so good and unfortunately dont last as long as I wish they would.

Reminds me of "Steel Magnolias". You know how some women identify with one of the Sex and the City characters? I identify with the Steel Magnolias.

I am a Ouiser. (Wee-zuh as Clairee called her) Ouiser Boudreaux was grumpy, hard and complaining. Always finding fault, never liked people to see her real emotions and hid her real self behind a scathing tongue.

However I am trying to be more like Dolly Partons Character, Truvy. Sweet, kind, loving and helping those in need. Besides I am much more Buxom on the Dolly Parton side...

Happy Tuesday

Theme and Variation

I decided to bead this weekend. I havent made anything new in awhile and I broke in my new desk and "jewelry station". It was heavenly. I had plenty of room, everything was neat, organized and right within reach. Made my stringing fun again!

OK, Remember this pink bracelet... I made it for my mom and she never wears it, thus perpetuating my feelings of inadequacy??

Well I took the pink bracelet and used it as the original pattern, then made 3 variations on it with different stones, including another pink one. I made several of each design, so I would have one to sell and one to keep.(because lets face it, you can never have too much jewelry! )

Here are the 3 I have strung thusfar:

Baby Blue is a Cats eye, glass pearl and swarovski bicone bracelet with sterling silver and pewter. Finished off with a toggle clasp.

Blue Stone is made from an aqua colored stone bead, glass pearl , white cats eye, sterling silver and pewter. The clasp is a self springing claw clasp, so it is easy on easy off...however I will be changing it to a toggle clasp once I get my delivery.

Ruby Red is red czech fire polish faceted rounds, glass pearl sterling silver and pewter. Currently There is a claw clasp, which will also be changed to toggle clasp.

I will be listing these in my etsy shop sometime this week.

I will be making several more of these in various colors(I also have a green milk glass, a pink cats eye, a purple milk glass and a white firepolish.

Since this is one of my more popular designs I am going to make a good selection of them to sell at the craft show in October. I will be creating them in birthstone colors. (garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, diamond, emerald, pearl, ruby, peridot, sapphire, citrine, opal, and blue topaz) I will mostly use czech firepolished glass beads. For Pearl I will be using swarovski glass pearls and for the opal I will be using round swarovski beads in "white opal".

I will be designing Moo cards to go along with each month and attach the card as a tag to the bracelets.

Since they are a costume jewelry and most of the findings are pewter, they are much more affordable than if it were completely sterling silver. So I am hoping to have much success with these at my craft show.

have a great Tuesday!

Customized mini thank you cardlets

As many of you know I am the QUEEN of collecting paper. I have THREE of those large 3 drawer rubbermaid storage bins. They are the leaning tower of paper. Each drawer is jam packed full of paper. Scrapbook, cardstock, tissue, washi. It doesnt matter. I love paper.
So In order to get rid of some of it I decided to make little cards that you can customize for your etsy shop.

I just listed these yesterday over at my original shop Blueboygifts.

They are mini thank you cards(cardlets).

A pack of 20 various cards customized for your shop.

Each card measures 3 1/2 x 4 1/4. They are a solid cardstock or bazzill paper background with a coordinating scrapbook paper and a message for your buyers.

Each set of 20 comes with 6 or 7 designs, (2 to 3 of each type)

Each cardlet is tied off with raffia as a cuts finishing touch.

Hopefully this will help get some of my paper out of my house...so I can buy more.

I am also thinking about making them into gift bag tags, or other little cardlets for packages, notes etc. They would make cute little event reminders if you put a magnet on the back of them.

I can customize colors, personalize messages etc.

So please check them out at http://www.blueboygifts.com/

Also, I was tagged the other day by melissakate. I am not ignoring the request, I am just trying to think of something interesting that you guys dont already know about me. I am a pretty open book and there isnt a whole lot of mystery left to this old gal! So thanks to Melissakate for tagging me and I promise I will get to it soon!

Photo greeting Cards

I went to the photo/camera shop yesterday. I took my digital camera card and an idea.

I chose 4 of my favorite pictures to print out, 4x6 glossy photos.

They turned out so crisp and clear and perfectly. The Photog. shop did a great job(a little pricer than your average drugstore, but well worth the extra money) TIP: go to your local camera/photography shop and print your pictures there. They usually can give you ideas and tips on improving your photos and help you edit where necessary. The drugstore will not. All they are interested in is you doing all the work at the "print them yourself" kiosk and paying the money.

I brought them home, and mounted them with archival quality adhesive onto white cardstock and turned them into Blank greeting cards.(you can see one listed here)

Beautiful photos on the outside, blank on the inside. You can customize them for any occasion and for any person.

Each card is titled and signed.

You can send them as cards, or frame them as is, in a 5x7 frame. They come in an envelope should you decide to give them away.

Obviously I like outdoors and nature. Flowers and blossoms are my favorite subject to photograph.

Many etsy photographers sell their photograph greeting cards.

a wonderful way to collect art and photography without breaking the bank.

These are kind like the jumbo version of artists ACEO's.

Photography cards range from $3.00 up to about $8.00.

Want to make your own photo art card?

Take your favorite picture, have it printed out into a 4x6. Mount it onto a folded greeting card measuring 5x7. Title and date. It is as simple as that. If you want to make them a little artsier, play around with color and filters on photoshop. Add shapes and texture. There are many ways to spice up your photography to show off to the world.

You can make them as big or as little as you want. I chose the 5x7 so my pictures would be a little larger and wouldnt lose some of the detail.

If you have a really high quality printer you can buy your own photo paper and print off your own photos in whatever size you so desire.

Just make sure you use the proper adhesive. I suggest going to a scrapbooking store and asking for adhesive that is safe for photos. I use the Tombo mono adhesive tape runner. Any craft store with a scrapbooking section should carry it.

OR as a really cute idea you can take a photograph of your child. Print off however many you want, and go to the photography department of your local drugstore or even camera shop. Ask if they carry the adhesive postcards, specifically for photos. Many of them do. They are 30 cents each(ballpark). You can attach your childs photo to these postcards and send them out as postcards or announcements or invitations. We did that when Peter turned 1. Dont want to buy the generic postcards from your vacation?? Take memorable photos and use THOSE as postcards instead.

Check out some of the really talented etsy sellers and photograph greeting cards. Or make your own. It is a fun rewarding hobby!

ETSY and Martha Stewart

WOW! Another GREAT promotion for ETSY!!

On Leap Day, Rob(founder of etsy), was on the Martha Stewart Show, talking about etsy and what a great showcase it is for artisans around the world.

With him he had brought a large number of items from various shops and stores, and helped show the world exactly what etsy is and what we stand for as a whole.

ETSY: a worldwide marketplace for sellers to sell their HANDMADE goods of every kind. Of course there are the vintage and supplies categories, but generally everything on etsy is made and crafted by hand. There are over 100,000 sellers on etsy, and over 750,000 members total. They sell an average of 15,000 products A DAY.

I will say I have done both ebay and etsy, and I vote ETSY all the way. ebay is overfiltrated with junk and mass produced crap and people are only trying to score a deal. They may charge you 99 cents for the item and then 30$ for shipping to avoid paying fees. It is ludicrous. But on etsy, everything is handmade. shipping fees are generally actual shipping costs. You may pay a little more, but you know you are getting quality and something handmade, not mass produced. Many times when you buy an etsy item you are getting a one of a kind, not to be found anywhere else item.

Here are 2 things I have recently gotten from etsy:

This awesome totebag/purse from sewgracious

I LOVE this bag. I had a whole post devoted to this bag awhile back. I get compliments on it wherever I go, and I DEFINATELY could not have found it in a department store.

This boro lampwork glass pendant called "daisy".

Thanks to flamekist for this AWESOME pendant. Sterling silver bail fused onto a a gorgeous daisy pattern lampwork glass pendant.

the packaging it came in was almost as pretty as the pendant itself!!

I am in love with this pendant, and am off to the jewelry store today to find a silver chain on which to hang it.

Watching Martha, and seeing all the talent on her stage, I was really proud to be a member of etsy.

I am Blueboygifts, where I mainly sell polymer clay pendants, jewelry, greeting cards and crochet items. It took me a full month to get my first sale, I felt really bad about myself and my crafts. I didnt realize that I needed to promote my items and my shop and that posting does not equal sales. So I started participating in the forums more, offering free shipping in promotions on certain items, relisting and renewing regularly and the sales started coming. Then I responded to a forum thread posted by Matt from admin. He liked my story and asked me to be a featured seller. It was a huge blessing to be featured , (September 2006) which really helped me gain exposure. To date I have sold almost 500 items as blueboy.

Then in January of 2008, I decided to open my SECOND shop Thebalmshoppe.

Granted I have to get my name out there(AGAIN) but it is totally worth it. I have bath and body products, balms, salts and more. I currently have several batches of soap curing that I cant WAIT to list!!

So thank you to Martha Stewart, for helping get the name of etsy out into the public. Thank you for showing america that they can buy quality, beautiful and unique items from artists and crafters all over the world and not mass produced junkyard crap you find on OTHER sites.

It was funny to me as I was watching: As the camera's panned over the items I was telling my husband "Oh Look, thats Black Apple!", "Oh there's Littleput!" or "I recognize Janine King Designs anywhere!" and "Don't you LOVE those popsicle soaps by LoveLee??" I have come to recognize many etsyans by their products and by their style and flair.

Thank you to etsy as well. Being a member has given me the chance to step outside my comfort zone and succeed where I didnt think I had a chance. It has given me focus and a goal. It has helped me define who I am as a crafter and what i want to be as a businessperson.

It has shown me that I can achieve anything I want, if I put the work into it.

Etsy Favorite finds for the week Jan 26

As many of you know I LOVE the color pink. I do not tolerate pink, I do not like pink nor would I say that I love pink. I would say that I LOVE pink. I adore everything and anything that is made from this color. (heck I even accidentally dyed my hair pink once!)
I believe that all Little girls should be forced to wear pink. Any other color is not acceptable.
I will buy anything breast cancer related and promote breast cancer awareness, because they picked such an awesome color! (just kidding, my mother is a breast cancer survivor, I was just being flippant. No hate comments please)
So this week, in honor of my pink obsession, everything on this list is PINK.

Banners, Avatars ,Business Cards (Oh My)

If you own an etsy shop (or in some cases, several)- You know how important it is to have a great banner and avatar. Your Banner is what you want the world to see about your shop.
Your banner identifies who you are as a person and a seller. It tells the public who you are, what you are about and why they should shop from you.
Your banner is like the Macy's window display. It is what people see first before going into shop.

Just like in reality, people who are virtual shopping will choose a shop which presents itself a little nicer. Kind of like the mall. You will generally choose a shop that has a nicer window display. Your banner is your window display.

You would NEVER see the Disney Store, or Macy's or Marshall Fields have a window display that is less than perfect. Your shop should never be less than perfect!

TIPS FOR A GOOD BANNER:

Be careful about using colors that contrast too much. They are a visual assault on the eyes. Example :

It is almost dizzing. If you are going to have a dark color as your background make sure you have a lighter complimentary color as your writing. (see below).

Now on the opposite end of the Color Spectrum, make sure your writing is dark enough. I cant tell you how many times I have stumbled across a banner where the print was too light a color to really see well.


Good Grief! Can you even SEE that?? (Squint REALLY hard)

Watch the Uber- funky fonts. They are kind of hard to read sometimes. If you have a little bit of a difficulty seeing exactly what it says, maybe you should pick something a little clearer.
Also, make sure you use the enite 760x100 space you are given. It fills the page better, and looks more uniform.

Good tips to making your own banner on photoshop:
www.etsy.com/storque/section/howTos/article/skill-share-making-a-banner/641/

If you dont have the time to learn photoshop, the money to purchase photoshop or just are in a creative slump, try these beauties on for size. Here are some of my favorite Banner makers on Etsy.





http://www.whitewater.etsy.com/.

Her banners are custom made. She has made banners for several people on etsy and is super easy in her pricing. Lindsey has done most of my banners. tell her what you want and she wont rest until it is delivered!
Her Balm Shoppe and Blue Boy Gifts banners were gifts to me and I just love them.




http://www.babyjewels.etsy.com/

She is a professional graphic designer and does both custom and prefab. Her banners include an avatar as well.

Don't you LOVE the Hey Lady! Banner??

Very creative and unique, I love babyjewels.










http://www.callista311.etsy.com/

her collage version banners are really cool and the colors are beautiful. I love the backgrounds and distressing and all the stuff she packs into her banners without them looking overdone.


I love the Cara Di Bella Jewelry Creations Banner.

www.thebannerqueen.etsy.com/

custom and prefab banners, great pricing and will work with you until it is right.

The Madelyn Smoak Metals Banner is a really great example of a great "window display". It tells all about the shop and what you can expect inside.

http://www.strumpfkunst.etsy.com/

cool and eclectic banners, great colors, spacing and more. these banners are relly cool, and she makes them within 24 hours. Her layouts are really cool.

I am enamored with the Sour Tang banner. Those colors match my business cards!













http://www.armorgan.etsy.com/


these are perfect to spice up your shop on Valentines!

I am a huge fan of changine my banners for the seasons or holidays. That Candy Hearts Banner would be a great Valentines addition to any shop!

AVATARS

As for avatars there was a fantastic article in Storque the other day about the importance of your avatar.
The article is here:http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/howTos/article/i-heart-marketing-my-etsy-shop-and-you-will-too-part-1/11/

I quote:
Avatars! Create a memorable avatar. The avatar is your face on Etsy ...I find that the best avatars are one of three types:

Faces. I love to see your face in your avatar. If you are your brand, then this is totally the right way to go. I love to see the person behind the craft...

Item avatar. Make sure your avatar is an item that you actually have for sale in your shop and it is a good photo with a light background...

Brand identity. I feel strongly about not changing your avatar too much, except for when you are switching between a series of avatars that are on a theme or that reinforce your brand identity...
end quote.

I agree. If you have a pet avatar, make sure you can distinguish it from the jillion other pet avatars out there. (I find a good example is Pussdaddy) Take it to photoshop, crop it at a unique angle, give it a funny phrase. Dress it up. Anything. If there are 10 avatars with a black dog on it I know I will remember the black dog that is wearing a clown wig (for example)
Many of the banner makers will also make a matching avatar in their price.

Now your banner doesnt have to match your avatar. I think your avatar should be your personality, your Face on etsy. Your banner is your shop, your avatar is the person behind the shop.

BUSINESS CARDS

Now onto the MOST IMPORTANT thing of all.(IMHO) Your Business Cards. Yes, it is vitally important that you have business cards. You MUST MUST MUST have them. I cannot stress it enough.They are your signature, your calling card. They are a physical, tangible reminder of your items and product. ALWAYS carry business cards with you. Give them out at every opportunity. When I go out to eat and the server brings me my bill and I give her the credit card, I leave a business card with my tip. I send out 2 business cards with every transaction. One to keep, one to give away.
There are many places you can go to get Business Cards printed.

1.You can buy the cardstock at your local office supply shop and do a home print job. This takes a lot of ink and a lot of patience. I dont recommend it. Especially if you have a printer that is kind of older and the printing leaves a little something to be desired. But if you are lucky to have a great printer, try it out. It may be cheaper in the long run.

2. You can have them printed at an Office Supply shop, or a quick print or Mr Speedy. All price ranges depending on what you want and usually done in a few days and you dont have to pay shipping! Typically a little more expensive going this route, but quicker nd the convenience of having them in hand and not being at the mercy of the Almighty USPS.

3. Online. Try Vista Print. Overnight Prints. 123print. You can upload your own design, or create one from scratch or from a template. Great pricing, easy to do, and you have a hard copy online and can easily reprint more. You do have to pay shipping. TIP: DONT fall for the "quicker shipping" trap. Pay the cheapest amount in shipping. If you pay "slow shipping" they claim 2-3 weeks. I always pay cheapest shipping and my cards are usually mailed out within a few days. I have never had to wait more than 7 days to get my cards.

Now as for the design, the online option means you will have the same business cards as many others in your field, especially if you use a template. If you can design your own and upload, then wonderful. If you dont have the right program to design and upload your own card, then try these shops for your next batch of cards. They will send you the file for you to upload to your printer of choice.



http://www.bitsycreations.etsy.com/



Her business Cards come in e-mail form that you can upload to your favorite online printer.

Or you can opt to have her print them off. Her cards are bright and chipper and very cool.


She also does the vertical cards as well.

www.babyjewels.etsy.com/

If you loved her banners, you will probably love her business cards as well!! Custom made templates.

http://www.pixelbypixel.etsy.com/

Arent these the COOLEST? If these arent eye catching, then I dont know what is.

www.littlecrabdesigns.etsy.com/


These vertical cards are so unique and brilliant. In these cards Little Crab uses the Chiyogami paper as a background.

She also has mini cards and
other styles of cards..

Enjoy your shop. Promote the heck out of it. Just make sure you have the right tools! With the right banner, avatar and business cards you can etsy with success!

thank you to all the wonderful etsy sellers who let me profile them!